Approximately one-fifth of all deaths in the United States are caused by cancer. An estimated $20 billion is spent annually in the United States in connection with the care and treatment of cancer patients. Although vast sums are spent on cancer research worldwide, little is known about the initiation and progression of this disease.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, cancer cells are relatively autonomous in that they fail to respond to normal biological signals that control cellular growth and metabolism in the living organism. Malignant tumors are characterized by their ability to metastasize. In metastasis, cancer cells spread thorugh the organism producing tumors at sites remote from the point of origin. It is generally accepted that the number of cell membrane processes is inversely proportional to the probability of cell metastasis. Malignant neoplasms are generally classified as those arising from supportive tissues such as connective tissue, bone, cartilage or striated muscle (sarcomas) and those arising from epithelial tissue (carcinomas). In another type of cancer known as "leukemia," cancer cells circulate predominantly in the bloodstream. In general, leukemias originate in the lymphatic tissues and bone marrow where blood components are formed. After a neoplasm develops in an organism, it may progress from a benign form to a malignant form or from a low-level malignancy to a rapidly proliferating malignancy. Although millions of cells may metastasize from a primary tumor, it is known that only a few of these cells actually result in metastatic lesions at other sites.
While the behavior of cancer cells is unpredictable, it is generally acknowledged that early recognition of cancer is paramount to successful treatment. The most common modern-day method of treating cancer is surgical intervention. Both primary tumors and metastatic tumors may be surgically removed. It is also known that malignant tumors, particularly lymphomas, leukemias and carcinomas can be treated by radiation therapy, for example by exposure to gamma rays and the like. More recently, advances have been made in the use of chemotherapeutic agents, often in conjunction with surgical and/or radiation treatment. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that rapidly progressing cancers have a high percentage of cells undergoing mitosis, i.e. a large growth fraction, and it is these cancers that are particularly susceptible to chemotherapy. More recently, immunotherapeutic techniques which utilize antibodies to which cytocidal agents are linked have met with limited success. However, the need for a more effective treatment for cancer is clearly evidenced by the large number of cancer deaths worldwide.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,952, entitled "Cancer Treatment Method," a method of cancer treatment is described by which the application of external electromagnetic energy allegedly achieves biophysical alterations including thermal changes, the stimulation of intracellular interferon production and the stimulation of intracellular prostaglandin production. The process includes the step of empirically tuning external electromagnetic energy to a "resonant" frequency which achieves a precise increment of heat rise within the cancer cell and which stimulates the intracellular production of interferon and/or prostaglandins. The present invention utilizes a group or resonant frequencies, not derived from heating consideration, but derived instead from a basic formula that acts to selectively control the transport of various electrolyte ions into and out of cancer cells, in a manner resulting in substantially no measurable temperature increase within the cells.
In recent years, multi-disciplinary investigations of physiological processes have provided evidence suggesting that electric and magnetic fields play an important role in cell and tissue behavior. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,697, entitled "Techniques for Enhancing the Permeability of Ions Through Membranes," which has been assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a method and apparatus are disclosed by which transmembrane movement of a preselected ion is magnetically regulated using a time-varying magnetic field. The fluctuating magnetic field is preferably tuned to the cyclotron resonance energy absorption frequency of the preselected ion. This important discovery brought to light the interplay of local magnetic fields and frequency dependence in ion transport mechanisms.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 172,268, filed Mar. 23, 1988, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the inventors of the present invention disclose that cyclotron resonance can be used to control tissue development. In U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 254,438, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Controlling the Growth of Non-Osseous, Non-Cartilaginous, Solid Connective Tissue," filed Oct. 6, 1988, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the present inventors disclose a method of controlling the growth of non-osseous, non-cartilaginous connective tissue which utilizes cyclotron resonance frequencies. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 295,164, entitled "Techniques for Controlling Osteoporosis Using Non-Invasive Magnetic Fields," filed Jan. 9, 1989, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the present inventors disclose a method of controlling osteoporosis using cyclotron resonance magnetic fields. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 343,017, filed Apr. 25, 1989, entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Regulating Transmembrane Ion Movement Utilizing Selective Harmonic Frequencies and Simultaneous Multiple Ion Regulation," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the present inventors disclose a method of utilizing therapeutic higher-harmonic frequencies and a method of simultaneously controlling the transport of multiple ions. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 395,247, filed Aug. 17, 1989, entitled "Treatment for Stroke Victims," the present inventors describe a method and apparatus for magnetically treating stroke victims.
The present invention discloses a new and unique apparatus for non-invasive treatment of cancer which is directed at reducing the rate of growth of neoplasms through the action of a fluctuating magnetic field.